When was the last time you watched Frank Capra’s timeless 1946 masterwork It’s a Wonderful Life? No matter how you answered that question, it’s never too soon for another viewing. Based on Philip Van Doren Stern’s 1943 short story “The Greatest Gift” — itself inspired by Dickens’ A Christmas Carol — It’s a Wonderful Life follows banker and family man George Bailey through an existential crisis, as he contemplates suicide and wonders if his hometown Bedford Falls might be better off without him. On paper that’s relatively dark framing for a holiday classic, sure, but it also makes for a singularly relatable premise. In our most lonesome moments, who among us hasn’t wondered, Am I really making a difference? Do I really matter? Has my life passed me by? And besides, it’s ultimately a joyful film, full of delightful vignettes and genuinely hilarious quotes. (I will never not guffaw at Donna Reed’s Mary shouting up the stairs, “He’s making violent love to me, mother!”) Between now and Christmas Eve, you have more than a dozen opportunities to catch IAWL in the Belcourt’s 1925 Hall, where Jimmy Stewart’s megawatt charisma will come pouring off the screen. If you’ve seen it a hundred times, go remind yourself why institutions like the American Film Institute consider it not just the best Christmas film of all time, but also one of cinema’s greatest works — full stop. And if you’ve never seen it before? I’m envious that you get to experience it for the first time. Visit belcourt.org for showtimes.
Dec. 19-24 at the Belcourt
2102 Belcourt Ave.
